Earth and climate
Sentinel-3 captures West Antarctica sea ice at its winter peak
An image of West Antarctica acquired by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite on 30 September 2026 shows the sea ice at the peak of its winter extent.
Section
Earth and climate
Climate and land are described with numbers, and a large share of those numbers comes from orbit: sea temperature, ice thickness, soil moisture, atmospheric gases, ground movements of a few millimetres a year.
This section covers the news that comes out of those measurements: what was detected, with which instrument, over what period, and what can be concluded. It is the part of space that reaches everyday life, from the weather forecast to running an emergency.
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Earth and climate
Etosha Pan from space: Sentinel-2 false-color view of Namibia
ESA has published a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 5 April 2026 showing the Etosha Pan, a 4760 sq km salt pan in Etosha National Park, Namibia.
Earth and climate
Mars and the Beehive Cluster shine under an aurora in NASA image
NASA publishes the image of Mars and the Beehive Cluster under a northern lights aurora, caused by the solar eruption that reached Earth on October 10, 2026.
Earth and climate
Landsat images reveal Texas drought and Thailand floods in 2026
In September 2026 the instruments aboard the Landsat satellites captured two opposite scenarios that reveal Texas and Thailand at water extremes.
Earth and climate
ESA ESRIN Pokémon GO tours: free guided Earth observation walks
Pokémon GO comes to ESA's ESRIN in Frascati: free guided tours from 5 to 9 October 2026, with mandatory booking by email.
Earth and climate
Space Observations: Integrating Networks for Operational Decisions
Space observations connect satellite imagery, small satellite networks, and robotic surface routines to transform data into operational decisions.
Earth and climate
Anak Krakatau & Enterprise: Nature's Force, Human Ingenuity
On September 5, 2026, Anak Krakatau, a small volcano between Java and Sumatra, demonstrated its power with an eruption.
Earth and climate
Extreme heat in Europe 2026: record heatwaves, drought and deaths
Le estati europee stanno subendo una profonda trasformazione, con eventi meteorologici di extreme heat che si manifestano con frequenza e intensità crescenti.
Earth and climate
Satellite data: reading wildfires, water and air with AI
Satellites say where to look, ground sensors give continuous readings, research flights sample at altitude and algorithms sort the flood of images.
Earth and climate
Wildfires: how Copernicus and ESA guide the response on the ground
Prolonged heatwaves and dry soil made the summer of 2026 unusually flammable. How satellite observations turn into evacuation routes and health warnings.
Official sources
Portals and services worth bookmarking when you want to check a figure, follow a mission or keep reading at the source.
- Copernicus Browser Copernicus
Imagery from the European satellites over any point on the planet, browsable by date: open and free.
- Worldview NASA
The whole planet day by day, with over a thousand data layers you can stack: fires, smoke, ice, cloud.